The Buffalo Bills want Bill Cowher. But does Cowher want the Bills?

The two sides have met at least once to discuss the Bills' head coaching vacancy and could

engage in further talks in the near future.

No matter how hard the Bills pursue Cowher, it's still a long shot that he would come here.

Unless Cowher is impatient to return to the NFL sidelines after a three-year hiatus, the

reasons why it doesn't make sense would appear to clearly outweigh the reasons it does make

sense.

Among the negatives he must consider:

1 The QB situation. Cowher has told people he would like to land with a team where

there is an established quarterback, or at least one with major upside. Tampa Bay reportedly

intrigued him because the Buccaneers have a promising young talent in Josh Freeman. Cowher

would be looking at a long stretch of trying to find a signal caller with star quality in

Buffalo.

2 The Bills' spending history. They have a poor history of holding on to their most

talented players. Antoine Winfield, Nate Clements, Pat Williams, Jason Peters and Jabari Greer

are players they did not retain. The Bills also dragged their feet on filling holes at

offensive line and linebacker, choosing instead to go with inexperienced and cheap depth.

One would think Cowher would want to go somewhere less restrictive in its spending. It

would take a big selling job for owner Ralph C. Wilson Jr. to convince Cowher that the cost-

conscious Bills will reverse their trend of most of the past decade and suddenly move out of

the bottom third of the league in spending.

3 Moving back up north. After Cowher resigned as the Steelers' coach Jan. 5, 2007, he

and wife, Kaye, settled into a new home in Raleigh, N.C. They both attended N.C. State, and by

all accounts, enjoy the southern lifestyle. The eldest of their three daughters has graduated

from Princeton and two others are still in college.

Cowher's primary reason for stepping down in Pittsburgh was to spend more time with his

family. It would be hard to ask them to make another move. If the family continued to live in

Raleigh, which is the more likely scenario, would he be able to deal with spending more than

half the year away from his wife and youngest daughter, who is a freshman basketball player at

Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C.?

4 Cowher is bound to have better opportunities if he's willing to stay patient. Given

his big-name status, he's in a position where he doesn't have to take just any job. If he

decides the Bills aren't appealing to him, the more prudent move would be to sit out another

year and assess the openings after next season. He's going to remain a hot coaching candidate

as long as he's available, so he can afford to wait for something he likes.

5 The Bills' organizational structure doesn't seem well suited to a mega coach like

Cowher. The head coach reports to the general manager, who reports to Chief Executive

Officer Russ Brandon, who reports to Wilson. There's also Bills treasurer Jeff Littmann, who

is a key member of the budgeting and organizational team. That's a lot of layers between the

head coach and owner. One would think Cowher would want a more direct line to the owner.

6 The Bills' uncertain future. The franchise is on solid footing for the time being,

but what about two or three years from now? Will the team stay in Buffalo long term? Cowher

could get an out clause in his contract to guard against a possible move. But the uncertainty

of the franchise going forward may give him pause to sign.

Here are some of the positives Cowher may consider:

1 He likes Tom Modrak, the Bills' vice president of college scouting. The two had a

good relationship when Cowher was the Steelers' coach and Modrak worked in the scouting

department. Modrak's status with the Bills has not been determined yet, but his possible

return would help their cause in attracting Cowher.

2 He would have a positive view of Bills GM Buddy Nix. Both men have a close

relationship with Marty Schottenheimer, who hired Cowher as his defensive coordinator while he

was coaching the Browns. If Cowher approached Schottenheimer about Nix, Schottenheimer would

no doubt give Nix a glowing endorsement.

3 He's a Buffalo kind of guy. Cowher and Pittsburgh fit like a glove because his

attitude and coaching style symbolized the Steel City. His blue-collar approach would

certainly be embraced by the people in Western New York.

4 Ralph appears serious about making him big offer. Pete Carroll reportedly will get $7

million per year to coach the Seattle Seahawks and he hasn't accomplished nearly as much in

the NFL as Cowher.

5 Cowher's options are limited. Other teams that were thought to have openings —

Carolina, Tampa Bay, Cleveland and Chicago — decided to retain their coaches. Washington

has filled its vacancy.

It is been widely believed that the job Cowher coveted was Carolina. Although John Fox

still has the job, he is entering the last year of his contract and might walk if the Panthers

don't make a longer-term commitment to him.

6 The Bills have other options. Minnesota defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier and

former Bills defensive coordinator and interim head coach Perry Fewell have already

interviewed. New York Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer and Philadelphia

defensive coordinator Sean McDermott could be next on the list. Marty Schottenheimer appears

unlikely, but his name won't go away.

The Bills' coaching search figures to be a long process. They'd like it to end with Cowher.

But it would take the sales job of the century for Nix to make that happen.